


Here We Belong

by Aendrax



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Abusive Relationship, F/M, Language, Violence, master/servant kind of not the good kind, smut in later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 04:52:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13474077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aendrax/pseuds/Aendrax
Summary: Raeja has been tasked to get close to the Lothbroks too help Harald destroy them. Will she finally be free of Harald?





	1. A Perfect Lie

**Author's Note:**

> I had originally posted this before, but I've deleted this and rewrote it to be better.

_“Come on, not today.”_ I said as I jimmied the lock on my apartment door. It was almost midnight and I just wanted to get cleaned. Thankfully just when I was about to give up Kai opened the door. _“Thank God you’re home._ ” I said sighing as I pushed past him. The second I was inside I took off my black half apron and tossed it on the small round dining table. I grabbed a beer from the fridge before taking a seat at the table to begin counting my tips for the night.

 _“Busy?”_ Kai asks as he begins rubbing my shoulders.

 _“Mmhmm,”_ is all I get out as I close my eyes enjoying the release of pressure going through my entire body. As he continues I begin separating the bills and coins from the pocket of my apron quickly counting as I go. Once everything is out and organized I count it all twice just to make sure. _“257 and 35 cents. Not bad for a Wednesday night.”_ I grab my beer and take a sip. It tastes terrible, but I and enjoy the coolness of the liquid in my throat.

 _“Nope. Hey Dante’s got me working late at the garage all weekend.”_ I turn and face him, and I can see there’s more he’s not saying.

 _“I thought you weren’t doing chop jobs anymore. You said Dante’s garage wasn’t one of their places.”_ His hands come off my body and I’m standing up straining my neck slightly to look up at him.

 _“I know, I know.”_ He rubbed his face and lets out a frustrated sigh. _“I guess one of the other garages is being watched so they needed another place to go.”_

 _“So that means you have to do it? We told them we weren’t doing this anymore.”_ I walk over to the window and look out seeing one of their black SUVs out front. Before I can say anything, Kai comes over and wraps his arms around him pretending to look out at the skyline with me. I follow his lead and keep my eyes on the moon.

 _“I know Raeja. I’m trying baby, we just gotta give it time.”_ I rest my head against him and gently trace my fingers alone his forearm.

 _“Yeah. I think we have visitors.”_ I say as I see three suited men get out of the SUV and walk up to our building. I let out a say and tear myself away from Kai. I quickly take the money off the table and stuff it away under the mattress in our room. I’ll have to move it to my safety spot later, but there’s no time for that now. I quickly go into the bathroom and splash some water on my face and I hear Kai greeting our guests. When I come out, the faces looking at me aren’t ones I recognize. There were two tall men who looked like they came out of an 80s movie: middle aged with stern looks permanently stuck on their faces, and the third man was the shortest of them. He was a bit older, maybe mid to late 40s with a full head of curly hair and big brown eyes.

 _“How can I help you guys?”_ I asked knowing who had sent them.

 _“Harald and Halfdan want you to meet them at the office tomorrow. Be sure you look nice, they don’t want to see you in a servers’ outfit.”_ The short man said as he handed me a business card. _“Give that to the girl in the lobby when you arrive, they’ll know where to send you.”_

 _“I’m out. I’ve been out for over a year.”_ All three of them chuckled then and I wanted to hit them all in their smug faces.

 _“Sweetheart, you can say that all you want, but they want you to come in, so I guess you’re not_ _really out are ya?”_ I folded my arms over my chest and looked them all over. _“They needed three guys to give me that message?”_

_“Oh, there was one more thing. Tony, Joey give em the message.”_

One of the guys made his way over to me and held me back tightly. For a moment I was confused until I saw Kai prepare himself for what was to come. I wanted to look away, but history taught me that would only make things worse. Two hits to the face with brass knuckles had Kai on the floor bleeding, the shorter man walked over while Kai took a few kicks to his torso. To keep from screaming out I clenched my jaw tightly and didn’t try to fight against the man holding me. The beating was over, and Kai’s entire face was cherry red.

_“Next time you’re told to stay until the job’s done. You stay. If Dante tells you to live in the garage for a week, you live in that fucking garage. You understand me?”_

_“Yeah Mick, I hear you...”_ Kai said in a strained voice and he spat out the blood that had built up in his mouth. Mick got up and I was released but I knew better than to move. I stood still watching Kai get up and try to stay tough.

_“That’s a good girl, watching that whole thing. Do what you’re told, and we won’t have to come and do this anymore. Come on boys, she’s gonna be no fun. We got a few other places to hit.”_

\--

As my cab pulls up in front of Harald and Halfdan’s building, H&H Enterprises. They manufacture pharmaceuticals out in the open to the public, but there are other things the brothers do that aren’t exactly legal. Memories of the last time I was here come flooding in my mind and I quickly push them away. I pay the cab driver and get out. I see my reflection in the tinted windows in front of me and smooth out my skirt, fix my top so that nothing is bunched up anywhere, and then moved some of my loose curls to rest on my shoulders. I take in a deep breath knowing I must do this as I pushed through the revolving door. There’s three people standing behind a desk in front of me and security guards on both sides of them.

 _“Welcome to H &H Enterprises, how may I help you?” _The man behind the desk asks making eye contact with me. I give him a smile and walk up and hand him the business card from Mick the night before. _“Ah yes, they’re expecting you. Take the elevator to the right to floor 65. Have a good day.”_ He motions to the security guard to his right and he moves aside so I can make my way to the elevator.

I spend the entire elevator ride taking deep breaths calming myself. Maybe they wanted to see me to tell me in person to watch a certain person coming to the bar. Maybe they were going to be at the restaurant tonight and I was going to wait on them. Many possible situations ran through my mind, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was completely wrong. The elevator opened and Halfdan was there to greet me. I nearly had a heart attack when we came face to face, but I just smiled through it.

 _“Raeja, it’s been far too long. You look lovely.”_ He leans in and plants his lips gently against my right cheek and I instantly feel sick. He pulls away still smiling at me, and I’m praying that my face doesn’t betray me.

_“Thank you...sir.”_

_“What’s with the formalities? I thought we were past this?”_ He says as more of a statement than a question as he begins to usher me into the office.

_“I just didn’t expect you to send anyone to my home.”_

_“How is Kai?”_ Harald’s voice sends chills throughout my entire body as Halfdan closes the door behind us. _“I told them to be gentle with him. You know you two are among my favorites.”_ Harald puts a hand on the small of my back and places a gentle kiss on my cheek. _“You really are beautiful Raeja. Please sit.”_ He says as he motions to the empty chair a few feet from me. I sit down, and he takes his seat across from me with desk in between us. He pulls out a manila folder and slides it across the desktop and I open it to see pictures and biographies of the Lothbrok family.

_“What is this?”_

_“It’s what we called you in for. I need you to move to Kattegat and work for Ragnar and Sons.”_

_“And what?”_

_“And get close to one of them, or all of them. I think you understand what I’m asking of you.”_

_“Get close?”_

_“Yes, use that beautiful face and body of yours to help me destroy and take over their company... and whatever else comes with.”_

_"No, I'm not doing that."_ I said sternly throwing the manila folder back onto the desk causing some of the photos and pages to come loose.

 _"Did you just tell us no?"_ Halfdan asked with an evil grin. Before I could answer Harald was in front of me.

 _"I'm sorry Raeja I thought I heard you say no."_ Instinctively I took a step back, they were always more intimidating when they got in my face.

 _"I'm not doing that. I told you after the last incident I'm done. I'm getting out."_ The next thing I knew Harald’s hands are on my throat and I’m pinned between him and the wall. My hands wrapped around his wrist trying to break free of his grip.

 _"You're going to do it because I own you! Don't forget that Raeja. You belong to me!"_ I could feel Harald slowly tightening his grip around my throat. _"If I say suck my dick while my brother fucks you I expect you to do what I say and not hear a word out of you. Don’t do this and Kai won’t be the only person getting a special message from Mick and his boys, got it?"_ His breath was warm on my face and I nodded as best I could. He smiled and released me then. I fell to the floor coughing as tried to catch my breath.

 _"What do I need to do?"_ I asked not taking my eyes from him as I slowly made my way back to my seat. I was never getting out, if there is an afterlife they'd own me there too.

 

After three months of preparation, I was finally ready to move to Kattegat. I had a new last name and background that was to Harald’s liking. I had my new identity of Raeja Danvers literally beaten into me. An aspiring nursing student looking for a new job to pay for medical school. There were days I came home with bruises, but Kai didn’t say anything as he iced my face and tended to other wounds. The good that came from all this was that they had enrolled me in med school classes in Kattegat and the new semester would be starting in a few weeks. I had an interview lined up at Ragnar and Sons for a personal assistant job, and part of me was a bit excited to get away.

Harald in his _nicer_ moments decided to give us a car for the trip to Kattegat. It wasn’t far from Svealand, but far enough that we’d practically be living on the bus. Harald had allowed Kai to come with me if he agreed to work at the chop shop.

\--

I sat in the interview room waiting for my interviewer to show. The room was very bland with the only splash of color being the mahogany table and chairs in the center of the room. I guess that was the point, no distractions just down to business. A tall blonde man entered, and I knew him to be Sigurd. _‘He’s married already I wouldn’t waste your time with that one unless he gives you a sign that he’s interested.’_ Harald’s voice rang in my head; I shook hands with Sigurd who was introducing himself.

_“Medical student huh? Why the break?”_

_“I’m just trying to save up to pay for the rest of my schooling.”_

_“No financial aid?”_

_“I don’t like the idea of taking out a loan and paying back all that interest.”_

_“I can respect that.”_ His eyes left my face and turned back to the papers in his hand. I kept myself composed as he looked it over, there was no question he could ask that I hadn’t gotten a bruise, cut or broken bone to go with my answer.

 _“Well I-”_ Before he can finish speaking the door opened and Ivar, the youngest, was wheeling himself in the room.

 _“Thank you for starting the interview for me Sigurd. I’m sorry, I was stuck on a call. You’re... Raeja?”_ I get up and take a few steps over and shake his hand.

 _“Yes, Raeja Danvers.”_ I say with the smile still on my face before walking back to my seat as I waited for one of them to say something. They were whispering amongst themselves, but I could tell they were arguing. Sigurd glared at Ivar his mouth shut as Ivar gave him a smug smirk. Sigurd cleared his throat and then looked back at me with a smile.

 _“Miss Danvers, it was a pleasure meeting you. Perhaps I’ll see you around.”_ He said without casting another glance at his brother before leaving.

 _“I’m sorry about that Miss Danvers.”_ Ivar stated his eyes glued to the pages of my file in front of him.

 _“Please call me Raeja.”_ He looked up at me and gave me a smirk.

  
_“Raeja, do you plan on going back to school?”_

_“Yes. The new semester is starting in a few weeks I have a couple of classes.”_

_“Interesting.”_ He mumbled plainly. He thumbed through the papers his face remaining unexpressive, once he was done he set the papers down, clasps his hands on the table and looked me dead in the eye. _“I have a proposition for you…let’s say you drop those classes, and you work as my assistant full time. If you’ve paid for the classes already, I will reimburse you with your first check.”_ I went to speak, but he put his hand up stopping me. _“Before you say anything else, know that being my assistant isn’t an easy task. As you can see I need some assistance, so you will be responsible for ensuring I’m making my physical therapy appointments three times a week, keeping a healthy balanced diet, you may have to do things like pick up dry cleaning, groceries and bringing them to my home.”_

 _“I can do that.”_ I stated confidently.

_“Well that’s what my last assistant said, but her boyfriend thought I was…what’s the word he used…I was too intrusive. I will say that I expect when I call you, regardless of the time you answer. I also expect that you to complete your daily tasks fully. Still feel that you’re up to the job.”_

_“Yes, sir.”_ A grin played across his lip at my words and he reached across the table to shake my hand.

 _“Welcome aboard Miss-err Raeja. You start immediately, follow me I’ll give you a tour._ ”


	2. All These Things I've Done

Working for Ivar was slightly more difficult than I imagined. He was _very_ strict and something about the way he would order me around made me think he enjoyed bossing my around. Every morning I had to be at the office by 6am, an entire hour before most people. When he came in, he wanted reports complete, coffee, breakfast and his schedule for the day waiting for him. Ivar didn’t like a single number out of place or for his day to go past 5pm; I had my work cut out for me.

Bjorn worked with engineers on building more innovative vehicles, buildings and appliances. Sigurd worked in the legal department ensuring that all buildings the Lothbroks owned were up to code and no workers were being treated unfairly. Hvitserk was head of their marketing making sure any advertising was not only good looking, but accurate. Ubbe worked closely with Ivar, mostly on residential real estate leaving the commercial dealings mostly to Ivar. I saw Ubbe and Sigurd more than the others but kept to myself.

Along with the regular tasks in the office, I ensured that every day at 4:45pm the car was ready to take him to his physical therapy sessions. While he was there I dropped off his suits for dry cleaning, make sure to take stock of his fridge and go grocery shopping if needed, organized freshly cleaned attire in his closet and if it was a family dinner night I made sure dinner was prepared. I have to say when 4:30 rolls around it’s my favorite time of day. All paper work is done, and the rest of my day is a breeze.

 _“Raeja, I’m giving you the weekend and Monday off.”_ Ivar started to explain as we left his appointment, _“My brothers and I are going out of town and we’ll be returning late Monday night.”_

 _“Oh, awesome. I mean, it’s awesome that you’re giving me a long weekend.”_ I couldn’t hide my grin at the thought of having time away from this double life.

 _“Plans with the boyfriend I assume?”_ Ivar shifted in his seat and I ignored the way the word ‘boyfriend’ seemed like poison in his mouth.

_“Maybe. You know he has a name.”_

_“You know I don’t care.”_ I rolled my eyes at his words. Whenever Kai was brought up he always seemed uncomfortable, but I didn’t dare to try and pry as to why.

_“Well I hope you have a good weekend.”_

_“Yes, try and stay out of trouble while I’m away.”_

_“I have no idea what trouble I could **possibly** get into while you’re away. I’m sure all that I’m going to do is sit at home binge some Grey’s Anatomy and eat ice cream.”_

_“That sounds **far** better than my weekend.” _ I was about to ask about what they were going to do, but the car stopped, and we were in front of my apartment building.

 _“See you Tuesday.”_ I said as I got out of the car.

 _“Raeja, your purse.”_ Ivar called out to me. I reached out to grab my purse and our fingers touched I swore we both lingered, but I pushed the thought away. I didn’t say anything, but I could feel my cheeks growing hot. I quickly turned towards my building and headed in.

 _“I thought Harald was bad.”_ Kai mentioned as we sat at dinner.

 _“I don’t think it’s fair to compare Ivar to Harald.”_ I stated blandly as a poked at my food. I didn’t like talking about Harald, and Ivar was **far** from that psycho.

_“Didn’t mean to offend your boyfriend.”_

_“Stop it.”_ I said more defensive than I meant to. Kai’s eyes narrowed slightly, and I gave him a quick smile to cover myself. _“I just don’t like it. The one girl in HR, Kwenthrith always says that shit to me.”_

 _“Sorry babe. Hey, you know…I don’t have to go in tonight.”_ A sly smirk slowly spreads across his lips and I know what he’s insinuating. I raise a brow to him and give a confused look.

 _“Oh? What does that mean for me?”_ He lets out a laugh and gets up from his seat making his way towards me. He’s behind me his calloused hands start massaging my neck and shoulders and I can’t help but let out a moan.

 _“Rae, you’ve been working so hard,”_ he says placing a kiss on my neck the stubble tickles and I squirm in my seat, _“hmm, I think you’re enjoying this?”_

 _“Keep it up, you might get lucky tonight.”_ I tease, suddenly his mouth is on mine and my body is wanting to mold against his. He picks me up from my seat, instinctively my legs wrap around his waist our kisses not stopping as he carefully brings us to the bedroom.

\--

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. I groaned as I lifted it off my nightstand seeing a blocked number was calling. Instantly I felt my heart sink knowing who it was. Reluctantly I pressed the green ‘accept’ button and waited for the voice to come over on the other line.

 _“Meet me at the coffee shop on 34 th and Jones. Twenty minutes, don’t keep me waiting.”_ The line went dead, and I reached over for Kai, but he was already gone. I sighed as I got out of bed and quickly got ready. The coffee shop was a cute little place called _“Lola’s Coffee”_ at the edge of town and I was already five minutes late. I silently hoped that Harald wouldn’t be too upset, but when I entered and saw the look on his face before he looked down at the silver watch on his wrist. He kept his eyes on me the entire time I walked to the table and I felt like I was a convicted murder walking to my death.

_“You know I like you to be punctual Raeja. I know all my girls know this.”_

_“It’s five minutes Harald, fuck, I got here as fast as I could.”_ I instantly regretted my words. His eyes narrowed, and I knew I was in for it.

 _“The Lothbroks let you talk like that? I don’t like attitude Raeja. Tsk, you know better.”_ He let out a sigh and motioned for someone to come to the table. I was now blocked between Joey, one of the guys who beat Kai months ago and the wall. The waitress walked up, and I recognized her. She gave me an apologetic look as she poured me a cup of coffee.

 _“Laila, stay a moment.”_ I watched the girl flinch as Harald reached over and wrapped his hand around her wrist. _“Laila, do I like it when you girls talk back to me?”_

 _“N-no Harald. We would never talk back to you, we owe you everything.”_ Harald smiled pleased at her answer. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

 _“That’s a good girl. Go on and bring me back those chocolate muffins I love.”_ She smiled at him and walked away. I watched her go behind the counter and relax as if it would keep him from hurting her. I knew the position she was in all too well, I was just like her…I still was.

I was kicked out of my reflective state and suddenly I was seeing stars and my face was hurting. Next, I took a hit to the gut and my head fell onto the table as I tried to catch my breath.

 _“Breathe Raeja, you’re fine. You’ve taken harder hits than that.”_ I clenched my fists and my jaw as my breathing got back to normal. _“Tsk, that’ll bruise, but you’ll be fine._ ” Harald said inspecting me, then motioned for Joey to leave the table. _“Raeja, you’ve been working for the Lothbroks for a little over a month now, what do you know?”_

 _“Nothing.”_ I said without hesitation.

_“That’s disappointing. You don’t know where your boss is?”_

_“I know he and his brothers are out of town, but that’s it.”_

_“Are you sure you’re trying hard enough?”_

_“Harald, I can’t get him to spill all of his secrets to me, I need some more time.”_ Harald brought his mug up to his lips and took a long sip of his coffee never taking his eyes from me.

 _“You’re right Raeja. You do need more time. I want you do something for me,”_ he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small zip drive, _“I need you to upload this to the network. It’ll do some things for me that you can’t do. Once it’s uploaded, you destroy this, understood?”_ I nodded and took the drive from him. He reached over, and I flinched as his fingertips gently touched my cheek. _“I know I can count of you Raeja. Next time, leave the attitude at home. Oh, and it would appear that you have the weekend to yourself. Perhaps you’ll take this time to figure out how to bring me some information that **isn’t** on their servers.”_

\--

 _“Fuck it.”_ I said to myself letting out a frustrated sigh. My eye was still a bit swollen and not wearing make up wasn’t an option. There were still bits of purple and blackish blue around my eye and I didn’t want anyone to ask questions or assume it was Kai, who I hadn’t heard from in days. I tried not to think too much on it. I spent another half hour making sure my eyes looked nice and even before finally heading out the door. It was just past 7 when I finally got to the office.

 _“Danvers!”_ Ivar’s voice caused me to jump, he was sitting at the elevator just waiting for me. I could tell he had been there a while by the look on his face. _“My office.”_ He commanded, and I pushed past a few people who were snickering. I took in a breath a followed behind him slowly trying to formulate my lie, but nothing was coming to me.

Once we were both in the office I closed the ridged glass door behind me and stood still. Ivar had pushed himself over to his desk and grabbed his crutches and began to slowly make his way to his window. _“You know, I’ve lived in this city my whole life, and sometimes I wonder why the hell I’m trying so hard to make it better.”_ I began chewing the inside of my cheek. _“I can’t have you be late. I thought I was **very** clear about that upon hiring you.”_ His back was still to me as he spoke.

 _“It won’t happen again.”_ I answered quickly, and silence fell among us while we both remained still. An uneasy feeling was creepy up my arm and I cleared my throat wanting to end the uncomfortable silence. Ivar let out a sigh and walked back to his desk and sat down.

 _“You’re damn right it won’t.”_ He looked up at me, mouth open to say something, then stopped as he began to inspect me. _“There’s something different about you today.”_

 _“I’m late.”_ I said sarcastically. He let out a light chuckle and shook his head.

_“No, there’s something else, come here.”_

_“I have a lot of work to catch up on I shou-”_

_“Now.”_ He demanded, and I obeyed. That’s what I was best at, obeying. I took a seat across from the desk and had a sudden flash of the days in the office with Harald and Halfdan. I quickly pushed those thoughts away and focused on Ivar, face vacant of any emotions. _“Did that boyfriend of yours hit you?”_

_“No. If you ever meet Kai, you’ll know he’s not the kind.”_

_“Are you in some kind of Med School Fight Club?”_

_“Can’t be in a med school anything if I’m not in school. This was a cooking accident. Well, more like a dancing while cooking accident.”_ That lie was coming out nice and smooth. _“You know how I told you I was gonna binge watch Grey’s Anatomy with ice cream? Well I got a hankering for some cheese sticks and when I opened the cabinet to get some seasoning I hit my face.”_ I rolled my eyes and let out a laugh, _“is it really that noticeable?”_

_“No, only if you’re paying attention.”_

_“I didn’t realize you were paying attention to me…”_ for a moment I found myself lost in his beautiful blue eyes, “ _sir.”_

_“I want status reports on the new builds that broke ground last week, I want the comps for the building on Main Street and Viking Boulevard and I need you to get the contracts for that new physicians building next to the hospital from Sigurd.  Oh, and let Ubbe know I need to see him.”_

_“Yes sir. Is there anything particular I need to say to Ubbe as to why you need to see him?”_

_“Just tell him that you, he and I will be having lunch.”_

_“Yes sir.”_ I got up and began heading out to get everything he needed when he spoke up again.

 _“Oh, and Raeja, be more careful when you’re left alone. I don’t want to have to call the cops on that boyfriend of yours because you’re a klutz.”_ I smiled to myself and left.

I sat at my desk and looked around quickly making sure no one was paying attention to me. I pulled Harald’s zip drive out of my purse and put it in the computer. I opened the zip and let it work its magic while I tried to ignore the nausea that set in. I didn’t ask Harald anything about this zip drive and I wasn’t about to say anything to Ivar.

 _“Ah there she is!”_ Kwenthrith’s voice caused me to jump. _“I was thinking you had quit!”_ She was just a couple of desks away from mine and the file I opened was at 97%. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and I quickly ripped the zip from my computer when she got close enough.

_“No, just slept in.”_

_“Long weekend.”_ She said as more of a statement than a question, I just gave her a smile hoping she’d go away as I started opening a few programs on my computer. _“Hey,”_ she wasn’t getting the hint and she came in close enough that it was hard for me to not stare at the hickey just above her collar bone that she was trying to hide, “ _I heard your boyfriend got onto you this morning.”_

 _“Kwenthrith shut up!”_ I yelled a little louder than I intended. _“Look, we all know you’re fucking Ubbe. Everyone can hear you brag about it in the bathroom and the cafeteria so stop with the boyfriend shit. The only one around here fucking any Lothbrok is you. Oh, and you might wanna tell Ubbe to calm down with the sucking **or** wear a fucking t-shirt so we don’t have to stare at your hickeys what are you in high school?” _ Daggers were flying out of her eyes and then they grew large as they fell on someone behind him. She mumbled something to herself and I slowly turned around to see Ubbe and Sigurd staring down at me.


	3. Made My Mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I uploaded last night I forgot a part, so I deleted and reuploaded.

_“Everything alright over here?”_ Sigurd looked back and forth from Kwenthrith and me.

 _“Yes, just some lady talk.”_  She gave Ubbe a wink and left.

 _“IT said they got an alert that you plugged something into your computer. I need to confiscate it.”_ Typical Sigurd, all business.

 _“Sorry, it was my phone._ ” I lied as I pulled my phone and charger out of my desk drawer.  _“I just needed to make sure I grabbed the charger that works, my boyfriend likes to leave me with the broken one.”_

 _“I told you it was nothing to worry about.”_ Ubbe interjected.

_“I still have to report it.”_

_“Sigurd, leave her be. Besides, we need you for something else. Follow us.”_  I quickly put my phone and charger back into my drawer and followed them to Ivar’s office. Ivar looked up from his computer screen confused.

_“What is all this?”_

_“We just need a witness.”_  Ubbe motioned for me sit and sat in the seat across from Ivar’s desk.  _“You have to tell the truth okay?”_ Shit, they knew, and they were going to force it out of me. I smiled and nodded at Ubbe’s words hoping my face wasn’t betraying me.

 _“You do whatever Ivar tells your correct?”_  Sigurd took a seat in the chair to my left and Ubbe was standing next to Ivar.

_“Pretty much whatever he tells me as long as it isn’t inappropriate.”_

_“Alright, so you do his grocery shopping?”_  I was now completely confused.  _“We just need to know if Ivar made last week’s family dinner or not. He swears he did, but it was too good to be one of Ivar’s dishes.”_  I wanted to kick myself in the face. My eyes darted to Ivar who was watching me closely and I let out a laugh.

_“No, he cooked it all himself. Even the sauce, that wasn’t a bottle it was all from Ivar.”_

_“Told you!”_ Ivar beamed,  _“I believe the wager was $50_ ** _each_** _. Cough it up!”_  Reluctantly his brothers pulled money out of their pockets and tossed it to his brother.

 _“Now Sigurd, you can’t cheat and have Margrethe make dinner this week.”_  Sigurd looked me over and I shrugged my shoulder and tried to stifle my laugh.

 _“She’s a good one Ivar, don’t fire her.”_  Ubbe teased as they both left the office.

 _“So,”_  I began cocking an eyebrow at him,  _“does this mean I get a raise?”_

 _“No, it means you get to keep your job.”_  Ivar quipped and gave me a stern look before bursting into laughter. He tossed the money at me,  _“there you can keep it.”_

_“Oh good! I can pay my rent!”_

_“Are you saying I don’t pay you enough?”_

_“No, you actually pay me decently. Keep it, you earned it.”_

_“Very well, next time don’t be so fancy with your dinner. Otherwise we get stuck eating Margrethe’s bland spaghetti that Sigurd loves so much.”_ He let out a sigh and turned back to his screen. I found myself staring at his jawline wanting to trace my fingers across it and –  _“Raeja,”_  I snapped out of my dazed and felt my cheeks starting to heat up as I made eye contact with him,  _“I want those reports immediately, and I suggest you catch up to Ubbe before he makes a lunch date.”_  He was serious again, back to business as usual; I nodded and left his office.

\--

Ubbe, Ivar and I all sat at a table towards the back of the cafeteria. One good thing about working for The Lothbroks was that their building had excellent, free food. I sat with my pen and notepad on my left and my food on my right. I tried to look as nonchalant as possible as I took notes.

 _“Rae.”_ My head snapped at the sound of my name, it was Kai walking up to our table. I immediately dropped everything and ran over to him. He was hurt, and I couldn’t think of anything but how I was going to get him somewhere safe. He winced as I wrapped my arms tightly around him.

_“What happened?”_

_“I’m glad to see you.”_

_“What happened?”_ I insisted.

 _“Not here.”_ He put on a brave face and I forgot for a moment that I was still at work and my boss was around. I nodded at Kai’s words and turned as Ivar began to speak.

 _“Who’s this?”_  Ivar asked as he wheeled himself over, Ubbe close behind him observing us.

_“Ivar, umm…Mr. Lothbrok, this is my boyfriend Kai.”_

_“Oh.”_  Ivar’s brows raised at my words.  _“Do we need to call for help? You look…hurt.”_

_“Nah, just some consequences of drinking too much.”_

_“Interesting, now I see why you and Raeja are such a good match.”_

_“What do you mean?”_  Kai asked without missing a beat.

 _“Well you’re both so clumsy. Did you not notice her puffy right eye?”_  I could feel Kai tense up beside me and it seemed like Ivar enjoyed knowing something he didn’t.

_“Babe, can you wait for me outside. I need to talk to Iv-Mr. Lothbrok.”_

_“Yeah sure.”_  He responded his eyes glued to Ivar’s. Ivar wasn’t backing down either he was fixated on Kai until Ubbe nudged him.

 _“Are you sure we don’t need to call someone?”_  Ubbe asked the concern apparent in his voice.

 _“Yeah, he’s fine. He had a weekend with some old friends,”_  I let out a sigh,  _“someone always comes back wounded.”_

 _“Ivar, can I take the rest of the day off?”_  I bit my lip after the words came out so quickly. I couldn’t focus at work with all of this, it was too much.

 _“Go.”_  He nodded towards the door. I went to grab my notepad from the table and Ivar reached out taking a hold of my wrist.  _“Don’t worry about it, but Raeja…”_  I closed the distance between us and looked down at him with a light smile,  _“you call me_ ** _immediately_** _if something is wrong okay?”_

 _“I promise everything is fine, but thanks.”_  I wasn’t sure who I was trying to reassure more myself of Ivar. His grasp lingered for a moment and once he let go I went after Kai. I looked back before I left the cafeteria to catch Ivar’s eyes locked into me. I have him one more reassuring smile and waved goodbye.

The car ride home was a silent one, Kai never liked to discuss things in the car out of fear that Harald had the thing bugged. Kai checked the car thoroughly, but still didn’t feel safe enough to speak freely. So, we drove not speaking a word while listening to whatever radio show was playing.

 _“Are you gonna tell me now?”_  I asked as soon as we were in the apartment.

 _“Babe, it’s nothing.”_  He peeled his shirt off and I could see the black and purple bruises on his ribs and a few cuts on his torso. I ran to him my fingers touching every single bruise and cut.

 _“What the_ ** _fuck_** _is this?”_  He winced as I touched the bruise and let out a sigh.

_“Remember those guys that came to the apartment?”_

_“Yeah how could I forget.”_ I rolled my eyes as I left Kai to get the first aid kit under the kitchen sink. Kai sat in one of the dining chairs knowing I wasn’t going to let him go anywhere else without tending to him.

 _“Well Joey, he came by the shop, wanting to make sure things were ‘running smoothly’. The whole time he was there he kept talking shit, and then he mentioned that he hit you and I couldn’t do shit about it.”_ I couldn’t help but smile knowing what was coming next.  _“I finally had enough, I hit him, and then I got my ass kicked by everyone else. Ow! Fuck!”_  He yelled as I started cleaning a few of the cuts.

_“My hero, this is your reward. You can’t let them get to you.”_

_“Hey, I’m letting you practice. Babe,”_ he tilted my chin up so he could look at me,  _“are you okay?”_

_“Yeah, it happened day ago. It hurt then, now it’s just annoying to try and cover up.”_

_“What’s the deal with wheelchair man.”_  I pour rubbing alcohol directly onto one of the bigger cuts causing him to jump.

_“Not cool. His name is Ivar, he actually thought you hit me.”_

_“Yeah.”_ He scoffed.

 _“The Lothbroks are kinda like that with everyone,”_ once again I wasn’t sure who I was trying to reassure more,  _“they just want to make sure they’re employees are healthy and everything.”_  I kept my eyes focused on Kai’s wounds, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking about the way Ivar looked at me and how he seemed to cling to me like he was afraid to let me leave.

_“I see the way he looks at you.”_

_“Stop, I’m not looking at him. I’m looking at you, and_ ** _you_** _my love need to be more careful.”_ I finished cleaning up the last of his cuts and wrapped up his torso before giving him a quick kiss.  _“You need to stop focusing on Ivar Lothbrok and focus more on not getting your ass kicked.”_

_“At least I have my nurse here to take care of me.”_

_“Oh yeah, that’s all I’m here for, to sit at home and wait to clean you up.”_

_“Hey,”_ Kai tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear and his eyes softened on me,  _“I love you…and I’m gonna get you out of this.”_ I smiled at his words and kissed him again.

\--

 _“How?! How the_ ** _fuck_** _did Harald Finehair get_ ** _my_** _building? Hmm? Can anyone explain that to me?”_  Ivar was furious as he walked around the conference room. He always used his crutches instead of his wheelchair when there was a meeting. We were about a week out from closing the deal on a new office building, but H&H Enterprises bought it instead.

 _“M-Mr. Lothbrok we don’t know how this happened. No one even knew we were in negotiations.”_ One of contractors spoke up and started to recoil as Ivar locked in on him.

 _“Really?_ ** _That’s_** _the answer you have for me?! Do I look like I’m an_ ** _idiot_** _?!”_  No one else spoke another word. Ivar took in a deep breath and faced Sigurd who, like the other Lothbroks were obviously perturbed.  _“Sigurd, is there anything we can do legally to stop this.”_

_“No, the sellers aren’t in breach of anything. It was mostly verbal commitments, and they didn’t sign anything that said they_ **_couldn’t_ ** _sell to another interested party.”_

_“All of you get out. My brothers and I will discuss this further.”_  I began to gather my things and leave, when Ivar’s head snapped in my direction.  _“Raeja, you stay, you’re my assistant after all.”_

 _“I don’t think she needs to be a part of this_ ** _discussion_** _Ivar.”_  Sigurd stated warningly.

_“I need her here to take notes.”_

_“No Ivar, Sigurd is right. This should be a discussion just between us.”_ Ubbe intervened and Ivar didn’t seem too happy.

_“Fine, go. I’m sure you have something to do.”_

_“Yes sir.”_

I sat at my desk and began typing up the minutes from the meeting. I had just sent Ivar the email when his line rang.

_“Ragnar and Sons, Real Estate division, this is Raeja how may I help you?”_

_“Boy you have a sweet phone voice. You should be a phone girl.”_ A chill ran down my spine as the voice spoke. _“Hello? Raeja?”_

_“Y-yes, how may I help you.”_

_“Raeja, this is Harald Finehair may I please speak with Ivar?”_

_“I’m uh…sorry sir he’s currently busy, can I take a message?”_

The line went dead, and I sat there listening to the dial tone until I could move again. Harald had been quiet for the past few months and gave me this false sense of security that he would just leave us alone. I went to the bathroom to wash my face and snap out of my daze. I had to remind myself that Harald wouldn’t actually do anything to me, or at least he wouldn’t as long as I did as he said. I went back to my desk and tried to focus on work. When my phone rang again I nearly jumped out of skin.

_“Hello?”_

_“Please tell me you’re not answering the phone that way.”_ I felt at ease hearing Ivar’s voice on the line.

_“Oh, no sir. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”_

_“It’s alright Raeja. I need you in the conference room in fifteen minutes.”_

I absentmindedly made my way to the conference room finally getting back into the groove of work. When I reached the glass door my heart leapt into my throat as my eyes fell upon Harald and Halfdan sitting across from Ivar, Bjorn and Sigurd.

 _“Harald, Halfdan, this is my personal assistant Raeja Danvers. Raeja, this is Harald and Halfdan Finehair, CEOs of H &H Enterprises.”_ I kept my composure as I reached out to shake their hands. Halfdan gave me a wink as I pulled away and Harald took it upon himself to bring my hand to his lips. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw Ivar twitch, but I didn’t think too much on it. I was too focused on trying to remain calm.

_“Lovely to meet you my dear, you are quite beautiful.”_

_“Thanks.”_ I muttered as I took my seat.

 _“Well…now **that’s** out of the way,” _ Ivar began, _“I want my building Harald.”_

_“I’m sorry you mean you want to buy **my** building.”_

_“What is it Harald? Not enough real estate in that filthy city of yours?”_ Sigurd sneered.

_“Careful Sigurd, it’s not proper to speak of a man’s home that way. Surely your father taught you that.”_

_“Everyone stop.”_ Ubbe interjected, _“how much do you want for the building?”_

_“I’m afraid a price you’re not willing to pay.”_

_“Then why did you bring your old tired ass over here?”_

_“Oh, isn’t it obvious? To gloat.”_ Harald and Halfdan began laughing and Ivar’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the table. I wasn’t writing anything, just squiggling circles on my notepad trying not to completely lose it. _“Relax, I came to let you know that I have great interest in expanding my business to Kattegat and I wanted to see my new home.”_

 _“Why?”_ All three brothers asked at once.

_“Because as you know this city is great for business, and the people are generally happy here. Did you know this is one of the top 5 places to live in the country? Why **wouldn’t** I want to expand my business?”_

_“This city doesn’t need **your** kind of business.”_ Ubbe was staring the Finehairs down.

 _“Don’t worry Ubbe, he has one building, we practically own everything else. He won’t stay long.”_ Ivar’s grip on the table relaxed and he had a scary, calm voice as he spoke; it nearly made me shudder.

 _“Don’t get cocky young Ivar, wouldn’t want to end up in an…accident. Come on Halfdan, I think we’re done here.”_ We all stood and watched as the Finehairs began to exit. Harald lingered behind with Ivar and I and smirked.

 _“Raeja, I expect you’ll be hearing from me many times over the next few months…and if you are ever **unsatisfied** with your employment, I would **gladly** have you work for me.”_ He quickly looked Ivar over as he said ‘unsatisfied’ and I saw Ivar’s lip tighten. I kept my eyes on the floor admiring the details in the expensive tile.

_“Are you okay Raeja?”_

_“Yeah…he just uh made me feel uncomfortable.”_

_“Yeah, he’s like that.”_ Ivar said sympathetically. _“Don’t worry, I’ll never leave you alone with him.”_

_“Promise?”_

_“Of course.”_ That’s when it hit me, I was the reason the Lothbroks lost out on the building. I gave Harald access to the network and now he was going to do whatever he could to continue making their lives difficult. It was completely my fault, I couldn’t say a word and here Ivar was making sure I was okay…me, the saboteur of his company.


	4. Straight Through My Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A part was missing at the end of Ch 3 when I last posted. Ch 3 was deleted and re-uploaded with the missing ending.
> 
> WARNINGS: torture, death, description of death

_“Rae, get up! We gotta go!”_ Groggily I opened my eyes and sat up in bed.

 _“Kai? What’s going on?”_ He tossed me a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie.

 _“Look, I’ll fill you in on the way, but we have to **go**.”_ I quickly pulled on the sweatpants and hoodie before grabbing our emergency duffle and backpack from the closet.

It was packed with cash, clothes, fake IDs, pretty much everything we would ever need to get away if we needed to. Once Harald made his presence known in Kattegat, Kai and I made sure we were prepared. Instinctively I went to grab my car keys, but Kai stopped me and ushered me out the door. We walked to the end of our street where he had parked a black Mustang. The tires screeched as he made his way towards the freeway on ramp. I glanced over at the speedometer and saw he was going nearly 90.

_“I fucked up babe. I fucked up real bad.”_

_“Okay, you need to slow down unless you want to get a ticket.”_ The engine no longer sounded like it was over exerting itself and I watched as the needle on the speedometer lowered towards 75. _“What did you do?”_

_“After I came home that day and I saw what happened to you I promised myself I would figure out a way to get you out of this. No double life worrying about whether Harald is going to beat you for not doing a good enough job, or if the Lothbroks would just kill you if they found out about you working for Harald.”_

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, I doubted Ivar would have me killed. Thrown in a room and tortured seemed more his game. Kai’s eyes were fixated on the road and he was beginning to sweat. My eyes were darting back and forth between him and the rearview mirror to make sure no one was following.

 _“And then you came home a few weeks later and told me that Harald had bought a few buildings in town and I decided to be a rat.”_ My eyes widened at his words. _“I’ve been meeting with this Fed who’s been targeting the Finehairs.”_

_“What did you tell him?”_

_“Just some locations of a few chop shops, some dealer’s names and a few dummy companies they got set up. So, I went to meet with him tonight, but some other guy showed up claiming to be his partner. I knew they guy though, I’d seen him around before. He came at me and...”_ His voice trailed off as if he couldn’t bring himself to say it, _“Turns out he’s one of Harald’s guys. I answered a call about an hour later from an unknown number and I recognized his voice.”_ I sat back in my seat and stared ahead at the road. Kai was a murderer, and he didn’t just kill anyone, but a **fucking federal agent**. There was nothing to say, I could only keep watch and pray that no one found us.

We were at a truck stop, and I wasn’t completely sure where we were. We knew we couldn’t just stop at a motel or hotel with people more than likely looking for Kai. We parked behind a line of semi’s out of reach of any of the lights. We put up the windshield protector, cracked our windows, locked the doors and laid our seats as far back as they could go.

_“I’m sorry babe.”_

_“It’s okay, you were just trying to protect us.”_

_“Get some sleep.”_ His hand cupped the side of my face and his thumb gently stroked my cheek. _“I love you.”_

 _“I love you too…”_ I whispered before falling asleep.

I woke up to the sound of a muffled scream and for a moment I thought that it was the last sound I’d hear before I died. I carefully opened my eyes and they fell upon Halfdan’s face. We were in a motel room, but I wasn’t sure how we got there.

 _“There she is. You’re right Kai she’s a heavy sleeper.”_ I went to run, but I was bound to a chair. I frantically looked around for Kai, but I could only hear his muffled voice. _“Calm down there love, wouldn’t want to ruin that pretty face of yours. Now,”_ he turned my chair so that it was facing Kai. Blood was dripping off his chin, his eyes were puffy, his lip was cherry red they’d worked him over hard. I was almost too distracted by his face that I didn’t notice the knife sticking out of his kneecap.

 _“What the hell is going on?”_ I demanded as I pulled against my restraints.

 _“Uh-uh.”_ Halfdan’s face was next to mind and I felt the chill of a blade at my throat. _“Did you think Kai was taking you on some surprise weekend getaway? Your boyfriend here doesn’t seem to understand what loyalty means.”_

_“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kai’s loyal.”_

_“So loyal that he was going to give Harald and I up to the feds? You see, we’ve noticed Kai’s defiance lately, and sweetheart you’re not performing as well as we thought you would. I told my brother you two just aren’t getting the warnings. And how loyal are you two with this?”_ One of his goons tossed our bags at my feet. _“I’m going to give you one chance here, you’ve been working for the Lothbroks for what…about six months now? And yet, you haven’t given us a speck of useful information. Yeah you can say you put our little eye on their server, but I could’ve paid anyone to do that. So now you’re going to tell me something useful or you’re going to watch Kai die.”_

He left me and walked over to Kai. The guy standing next to Kai handed Halfdan a gun which he quickly cocked and put against Kai’s head.

 _“Stop!”_ I screamed as the tears began strolling down my face. _“Leave him alone. I’ll tell you whatever you want!”_

 _“No, see that’s not good enough.”_ He quickly moved the gun from Kai’s temple, pointed at his thigh and shot. Kai let out a cry of agony and my scream was muffled by the sound of the gun going off. _“Isn’t it fun not getting what you want?”_

 _“I don’t **know anything! They’re just good people!** ” _I pleaded.

 _“Strike two!”_ Another shot went off, this time it was through Kai’s shoulder. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing could come out, just sobs. _“Last chance.”_

 _“Rae, I lo-“_ Before he could finish speaking Halfdan pulled the trigger kicked over Kai’s lifeless body. A blood curdling scream came out of my throat. I pulled as hard as I could against my restraints, but it only caused me to tip over in my chair. The guy behind me picked up my chair and when the first blow landed on my torso I could barely breathe. I thought I heard a rib crack, but I couldn’t feel anything. I took a few more hit to the face before completely passing out.

\--

**_BEEP. BEEP. PAUSE. BEEP. BEEP. PAUSE. BEEP BEEP. PAUSE_ ** _._

Wherever I was now, it was cold, smelled like plastic and the beeping was getting on my last nerve. I went to swallow, but it felt like I was trying to swallow a mouthful of sand and I ended up coughing. With my eyes still closed I brought my hand up to cover my cough but stopped when I felt a slight pinch and a tug on my hand. I opened my eyes and saw I was in a hospital room. As I turned to look towards the door, there was Ivar starting to roll himself in.

 _“Call Dr. Chambers!”_ I couldn’t see who he was talking to, but his face was very serious when he looked at me. I carefully sat myself up and winced at the pain in my side. _“Careful, they said you have a fractured rib, just sit still.”_

_“Where the hell am I?”_

_“Relax,”_ he was by my side now. Even with the bed’s plastic arm as a barrier I felt a little at ease with him by my side. I opened my mouth to say something, but the doctor came in with her mobile computer cart and he reached through the open space on the armrest and put a hand over mine.

_“Hello everyone, I am Dr. Chambers. Miss,” she quickly looked at her screen, “Danvers. Can you tell me what year it is?”_

_“2017.”_

_“Very good, and the month?”_

_“September.”_

_“What’s the last thing you remember?”_

_“My-“_ My voice broke as I began to answer. I gave Ivar’s hand a squeeze and I watched his face remain serious as his eyes were fixated on the doctor. I took in a breath and swallowed hard before speaking again, _“My boyfriend, he was trying to protect me,”_ The words were coming out, but so were tears as my mind replayed Kai’s death repeatedly.

 _“Miss Danvers, there are some officers who would like to speak to you, are you feeling well enough to speak to them?”_ I nodded. Two tall officers came in; out of the corner of my eye I could see Ivar looking at them carefully.

 _“Sir, can I ask who you are to this woman?”_ The officer on the right asked.

_“I’m her friend.”_

_“Ma’am, are you okay with your…friend being present?”_ I nodded again. _“Alright, let’s take this from the top. Just tell me what happened.”_

I explained to the officers that Kai had come home to surprise me with a mini getaway and he never told me where. We stopped at a motel and I was washing my face when some guys busted through our door. Kai tried to fight them off. They had a gun and I watched them shoot him, I screamed tried to fight them myself and was knocked out.

_“Would anyone have any reason to hurt you or your boyfriend?”_

_“No.”_ I began to sob again, even though I had lied I could still see him die over and over again.

_“Could you describe the men?”_

_“Yes, two of them were about average height, lean one with dark hair, one with like a sandy blondish color. The third guy was shorter, slightly balding and he looked like he was from an old 80s gangster movie.”_

They continued to ask questions and I gave them half truths and lies every chance I got. If somehow this got back to Harald and Halfdan, I needed them to know that I was loyal. Ivar seemed to grow more and more irritated as I spoke. Finally, when they left, closing the door behind them, he seem to relax a bit.

_“Ivar, what are you doing here?”_

“You don’t remember calling me?” I shook my head and he let out a sigh. _“I thought as much, you sounded…terrible. I called the police they tracked your phone and you were brought here.”_

 _“Thanks.”_ I said giving his hand a squeeze. His eyes quickly fell to our hands as if he had forgotten and then gave me an awkward smile.

 _“You should get some rest…you’ve been through a lot.”_ He pulled his hand away and I found myself missing the comfort of his skin. He began to take his leave and I wanted to ask him to stay, but I couldn’t muster up the courage. _“Raeja, I hope_ _that w_ _hen you’re feeling up to it, you’ll tell me the truth…not that line of bullshit you fed the cops.”_


	5. Live To Tell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The necklace Ivar bought Raeja can be found here:  
> https://www.etsy.com/listing/274560084/garnet-necklace-garnet-pendant-january

It had been two and a half months since Kai’s death and not too long-ago Joey and his crew were arrested. The police caught them ‘breaking into’ one of Harald’s places. I was called in to ID them, and it felt good knowing that Joey and his guys couldn’t come after me. Harald let me know it was a gift for my good behavior. I was able to bug a few offices in the building including the conference room. This allowed Harald to get whatever he needed since I couldn’t provide him the information myself. I hated doing it, but there wasn’t much of a choice.

I couldn’t bring myself to bug Ivar’s office, being with him was the only time I felt somewhat safe. Ever since the hospital Ivar had been a bit cold towards me, and I couldn’t blame him. I’d kept our conversations short as if we only saw each other at the office afraid he’d ask about what happened with Kai.

 _“Are you busy this weekend?”_ Ivar asked not looking up from his computer screen.

_“No.”_

_“Perfect. I’ll need you to pack for the weekend.”_

_“T-the weekend?”_ He turned his head and cocked an eyebrow at me.

_“Is that going to be a problem?”_

_“No.”_ I answered quickly, _“Just unexpected.”_

 _“Well, I have a dinner with a client, and Ubbe can’t be trusted to **not**_ _sleep with her so I’ll need you.”_

_“I’m not sure I’m following.”_

_“I’ll need you to accompany me to this meeting…and pretend we’re a couple.”_

_“C-couple?”_ I nearly choked on the words and felt my cheeks get hot.

_“Yes, if you’re not feeling up to it, I could always as Sigurd and Margrethe to go.”_

_“No!”_ I shouted, _“I’m sorry, I just meant no. It’s fine. It’s what assistants are for right?”_

_“I suppose. If you’re uncomfortable or need more time.”_

_“Ivar, really it’s fine.”_ The corner of his mouth twitch and a light smile spread across his lips. I realized that since everything with Kai I hadn’t called him by his name.

_“Well then, I’ll have a car pick you up at six, we’re in the air by 7:30.”_

_“Clothes wise…are we going to some like black tie event?”_

_“Possibly. Just make sure you look like you always do Rae.”_ The way he spoke gave me goosebumps, but I kept my composure. I gave him a light smile and made my way out of the office.

\--

We took Ivar’s private jet to Midgard and got checked into a hotel for the next three nights. Ivar had already reserved separate rooms, initially on separate floors, but when we arrived Ivar insisted the rooms be next to each other. We were informed that the rooms were not only next to each other, but connected by a door in each room. Walking into my room I stood in front of the door leading to Ivar’s room tempted to open the door. He had a door on his end as well, so it wasn’t like I’d be barging in on him. I carefully walked to the door and put my ear against the wood. I thought I heard something turn, but I walked away before I could think too much about it. I laid in my bed staring up at the ceiling wondering what the hell I was doing here.

Suddenly I was thinking about Kai again, and the tears began to fall. Who was I becoming? Kai was right, we should’ve just ran. I could’ve ran away again, and they wouldn’t have known right? Or would I be the next dead body?

 _“Raeja!”_ I was knocked out of my thoughts with the sound of Ivar’s voice and the pounding against the door. I sat up quickly and wiped away my tears.

 _“Coming!”_ I yelled back as I tried to get my breathing under control. I quickly ran to the sink and splashed some water on my face, grabbed a face towel and then opened my door to see a concerned Ivar with a bewildered look on his face.

 _“I thought I hear you crying.”_ I let out a light laugh and shook my head.

_“No sorry, that was the TV. I somehow manage to throw my bag on the remote and it turned on while I was washing my face.”_

_“Ah. Can I come in, I wanted to talk to you about a few things.”_

_“Yeah sure.”_ I moved aside and wiped the remaining spots of water from my face. I sat down at the foot of the bed across from him and gave him a smile as I waited for him to speak.

_“I know it’s a bit weird, what I’m asking you.”_

_“Yeah I guess so.”_

_“Are you sure you’re okay with this? I know it hasn’t been that long since things with Kai.”_ I saw his hand go to reach out, but he quickly brushed non-existent fabric from his jeans.

_“I’m fine Ivar, really.”_

_“I’m glad. I think we should go over a few things, before tomorrow.”_

_“Okay, like what?”_

_“Like boundaries.”_ I couldn’t help but raise a brow at his words.

_“Boundaries?”_

_“Yes, we need to be a couple, but I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”_

_“What exactly are you asking?”_ He shifted in his chair and I could see it was hard for him to say what he wanted to say.

_“May I kiss you?”_

_“Uh-um-y-yeah.”_ I bit my lip nervously.

_“I mean tomorrow when we’re pretending to be a couple.”_

_“Of course, couples kiss, it’d be weird if we didn’t.”_

“What about touching?”

“Touching? I mean I think I can handle whatever ‘touching’ you plan on doing.” I busted out laughing at my own words. If he only knew how many times I had thought of him touching me, especially lately.

_“Why are you laughing?”_

_“I’m sorry, it’s nothing. I don’t know why I’m laughing.”_ He looked at me confused and then began laughing himself. Silence fell between us as our laughter died down and we were looking at each other.

 _“May I kiss you now?”_ Without uttering another word, I closed the distance between us and my mouth fell on his. I kissed him a bit harder than I intended, but I had imagined it so many times. He was hesitant at first, but soon his hand was in my hair and he pulled exposing my neck. I let out a gasp then a moan as he kissed my neck. As I shut my eyes to enjoy the feel of his touch a flash of Harald smiling in approval crossed my mind and a flung myself off him.

I quickly moved towards the window calming myself down. I realized my hands were slightly shaking and I kept my back to him calming myself.

_“I’m sorry Raeja. I got a carried away.”_

_“No, it’s fine.”_ I said still not facing him. _“I shouldn’t have attacked you like that.”_ I turned to face him and his face was slightly red.

_“So tomorrow we’ll stick to quick kisses.”_

_“Yeah,”_ I chuckled, _“let’s stick to that.”_

 _“I think we’ll be good for tomorrow. Oh, that reminds me. I have something for you.”_ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a jewelry box. _“Something to help with tomorrow.”_ I opened the box to find a necklace. The necklace had an elongated rectangle with Garnet gems in the middle. My jaw dropped as I looked at it.

 _“Oh Ivar, it’s beautiful!”_ I exclaimed as I took it out and quickly put it on. I ran over to the mirror, pulled my hair back and gawked at the way it looked around my neck.

 _“I’m glad you like it. I guess I should let you get some sleep.”_ He began to make his way to his room and I ran over blocking his way. I bent down and hugged him tightly.

_“Thank you, Ivar I love it.”_

_“Keep it. I bought it for our little ruse tomorrow, but it really looks great on you.”_

\--

For once I didn’t have a nightmare; it was a pleasant change of pace. I spent the morning laying in bed watching TV, fiddling with the necklace around my neck. We didn’t have to meet with Ivar’s client until later tonight, so I was left to my own devices. Ivar checked in on me and invited me to join him at a gallery for lunch, of course I accepted.

Part of me felt completely guilty for my feelings for Ivar. They had always been there, even with Kai, but was it too soon? I tried the whole _what would Kai want_ thing, but I could just hear him _“The Lothbroks are no different than the Finehair’s. They’re all assholes.”_ I tried not to focus too much on Kai, or my guilt. I decided to just try and enjoy my time…once again pretending to be something I wasn’t.

Ivar decided not to use his wheelchair while at the gallery. We walked through admiring and discussing each piece. _“That building Harald took from under us, it was supposed to be a studio.”_ He commented as we came across one of the pieces towards the back of space.

_“A studio?”_

_“Yes, for art classes and exhibits.”_

_“I didn’t know that.”_

_“No one but Ubbe knew. I was going to debut my work, but I guess that was my sign that it wasn’t meant to be.”_

_“I didn’t know you were an artist.”_

_“There’s a lot you don’t know about me. So, do you actually like art or did you have nothing better to do until dinner tonight?”_

_“No, I actually like art. Kai and I used to go to every exhibit and showing we could back home.”_

_“Really? What’s your favorite?”_

_“I love late Renaissance pieces from the 15-16 hundreds, but I really just love art.”_

_“Hm.”_

_“What?”_ I asked blushing slightly.

_“Nothing, just like actually having a conversation with you and learning more about you.”_

_“I promise I’m not too interesting.”_

_“I’ll be the judge of that. Also, I have another surprise for you at the hotel.”_

“Another surprise?”

“I suppose it’s not a surprise anymore, I got you a dress for tonight.”

“Don’t trust me to look good tonight?” I teased.

_“Not at all, just something I thought would look good on you.”_

\--

I sat in the shower letting the hot water soothe my body I wondered what the night would bring. I hadn’t seen the dress that Ivar picked out for the night, but I was excited to see what was picked for me. Once I was finished in the shower I opened the black garment bag, that was laid out neatly on my bed, and saw a beautiful haltered black dress. I quickly got dressed and was in awe as I looked at my reflection. The dress was unbelievably comfortable and clung to my body in the right places. It was odd to look at myself and feel completely confident and sexy in such a tight dress, but I had to admit…Ivar had **very** good taste. I kept my hair down in loose curls, using bobby pins to pin back what used to by my bangs and looked over myself one more time before I headed over to Ivar’s room.

I took in a deep breath as I knocked on Ivar’s door. I was taken aback when I saw him answer the door in a nice suit with a dark red dress shirt and crutches instead of his wheelchair. He looked me up and down twice, his mouth open and then smiled.

 _“Wow, you look incredible.”_ I felt my cheeks flush and I bit my bottom lip.

_“Thank you, you look great too. I think you should wear a suit more often. No wheelchair tonight?”_

_“No,”_ He walked over the threshold letting the door close behind him, _“tonight I want to stand and walk in with my beautiful date.”_

_“Careful Ivar, I’m starting to think you’re forgetting-”_

_“I’m not forgetting anything. You are my date, and you look beautiful.”_ He said quickly giving me a wink and I felt myself blush. A limo came to pick us up and the driver commented on how great we both looked. I could feel my heart racing as the car began to move. Ivar reached over and touched my hand, at first I wanted to pull away, but his hand was comforting.

_“Are you okay?”_

_“I’m just nervous.”_

_“Don’t be, you look great and we’ll have a good time.”_ He gave my hand a quick squeeze before taking it away.

_“Would you’ve rather have had Sigurd here?”_

_“No, I think this time together has been good for our working relationship.”_

_“I guess so.”_

_“It has been nice to see you less gloomy.”_ I nodded at his words and looked out the window as the car slowed letting us know we had arrived at our destination. _“Show time.”_ His words were accompanied by a sigh, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Ivar got out of the limo and I stood back knowing he hated being helped out of the car. Once he was stable and using his crutches I stood at his side and slid my hand around his left arm, feeling the muscle beneath his blazer.

 _“Ah Mr. Lothbrok, your table is ready and your guests arrived just moments ago.”_ The hostess greeted us. We followed behind her to our table. As Ivar introduced me to his client I nearly froze as my eyes fell on Ellisif, Harald’s ex-wife, her eyes widened slightly as if she recognized me, but neither of us dropped our pleasantries.

 _“Vik already ordered a bottle and a couple of appetizers.”_ She said as we took our seats across from them.

 _“Wonderful.”_ Ivar said looking over at me with a smile. He had his arm draped over the back of my chair his fingers touching the few places where my back was exposed. I hated myself for a moment enjoying the way it felt and how it felt so natural.

 _“Ivar, I thought you and Ubbe were the Lothbrok bachelors? How long have you two been together?”_ Ellisif asked as the waiter poured our wine.

 _“Just a little under a year.”_ I answered.

 _“She’s not going to stop there.”_ Vik teased as he grabbed his glass of wine. _“You should just jump into how you met, who said I love you first and how serious you guys are.”_ Ellisif hit him playfully, _“It’s true dear, you’re very nosey when it comes to other people’s love lives.”_

 _“What can I say? I’m a romantic.”_ We all laughed and I took the opportunity to take a big gulp of wine then looked at Ivar who raised a brow at me and I scrunched up my face at him.

 _“He doesn’t like telling the story. We met at an art gallery. Some local artists were putting on an exhibit and there was this piece I had no clue what was going on and there was no artist name. I’m about to walk away, all of a sudden there’s this voice that starts explaining the piece. I had to have him tell me again as we’re looking and then as he’s talking I realized it’s his.”_ Ivar picked up my hand and brought it to his lips. _“You know, I ended up buying that thing, he still didn’t tell me it was his until like a month into dating.”_

_“He just asked you out right then and there?”_

_“No,”_ Ivar spoke up and I giggled as if we were sharing a private joke, _“I told her the Van Gogh exhibit that was going to be in town for a few days the following weekend and she told me how she loved him, and I just happened to have tickets.”_

 _“Of course,”_ I interjected, _“I still have no clue who he is, so I’m thinking this guy won tickets from a raffle or something.”_ We both laugh as Ivar takes his hand from mine and gently puts his hand on my back his fingers grazing the exposed skin between my shoulders.

 _“She goes with me to the exhibit and at the end I asked her out to dinner. And that was it, I knew from the moment I saw her there looking at my painting that she was a special one.”_ His fingers made their way up under my hair and to my neck where he started to softly massage. It felt wonderful and I took another sip of my wine feeling completely relaxed now.

 _“You know, I just need to go powder my nose. I’ll be right back.”_ I announced wanting a minute away.

 _“Me too, let’s leave the men to talk.”_ Ellisif said with a smile. I got up from my seat and gave Ivar a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. Ellisif link her arm with mine on the way to the bathroom. Once we were sure we were alone in the bathroom she locked the door.

_“Does Harald know you’re here tonight?”_

“No, but I’m sure when I don’t check in over the weekend he’ll know.”

“So who are you working for? Harald or Ivar?”

“Why do you care?”

“Because I need to know if helping out the Lothbroks is going to bite me in the ass or have my ex-husband come snooping around Midgard.” I sighed at her words and shrugged.

_“I’m just trying to get out.”_

_“Fair enough.”_ She walked over to the sink and examined her face, _“you’re falling for him aren’t you?”_

_“Who?”_

_“Ivar. I see the way you two look at each other, even if you’re just pretending, there’s some real feelings there.”_ She looked at me through the mirror with a raised brow and I shrugged at her once again. _“Trust me, I know love when I see it, and you and Ivar can only dance around this for so long.”_ I rolled my eyes at her words.

 _“Relax Raeja,”_ she turned away from her reflection and took a few steps towards me. _“I know what Harald’s done to you, I used to be married to him remember?”_

_“Yeah and he got worse once you were gone.”_

_“Well we all have to do things for ourselves, I couldn’t always protect you girls. I’m going to work with Ivar and give him access to my contractors and builders possibly anything else he’s asking for, but I’ll need you to come clean with him.”_

_“Why do you care so much?”_

_“Because Harald is a bastard, and you know you want to. I won’t tell Ivar your secret, but if we’re going to be partners I cannot have you reporting our business dealings to Harald. Can I count on you to keep your word?”_ She extended her hand and we shook on it.

_“Yes.”_

_“Good, now let’s enjoy the rest of our dinner.”_

 

 


End file.
